Appropriate art supp for 15 mo? HELP

[scram]

15 mo dd still mouths things ..... MIL bought an adirondack chair that she loves to sit in, so now I'm thinking she needs a SMALL chair and table with some crayons, paper, etc. She has shown interest in scribbling w/a pen and scratch paper but attention span is pretty short. What do I get her that is safe, interesting, fun, won't ruin my house? I'm not too early with this???

[AngelaS]

Crayola Pipsqueak markers wash out of everything.

The Crayola paints are good too and wash out well. I often mix in a generous squirt of dishsoap just for good measure tho. :)

Oh and if she's fingerpainting or painting w/a brush, just let her paint the table top or counter (we have barstools at the kitchen counter). Paper moves around too much and since the paint will inevitably get on the counter, you'll have to wash it anyway. :) My girls LOVE to paint the counter and clean up afterwards---I'm not sure which is more fun for them. :)

[brittone2]

IMO, the attention span for pretty much any art medium at that age is going to be short.

Both of my kids started watercolor painting (ala Waldorf) around 15 months (and some fingerpainting, etc.). I have a cheapo yardsale plastic easel out on the deck, so that makes cleanup pretty easy (we have a wooden indoor easel for chalk/whiteboard stuff). It really usually only lasts a few mins...like 1-5 mins (and DD has a 4.5 year old brother to imitate, which helps).

DD is 19 months and likes playdoh (is nontoxic but you can also make your own), washable markers, sidewalk chalk, Stockmar stick crayons and the blocks, etc. None of it lasts long, but she will draw daily and has been for a while now (again, she seems more into this than DS was, but she imitates his actions).

We do dishsoap painting here too. I've given the kids a soapy foam paintbrush and let them paint the big glass front door.

Child assessment tools I've worked with in the past often look for "marks paper with crayon" or similar around 12 months of age, so no, not too early. Just pick washable, nontoxic stuff (as far as nontoxic, but not necessarily washable....Prang makes soybean crayons, Stockmar makes beeswax crayons, etc. if you prefer those to Crayolas, which even then are still nontoxic)). You can move outside, or use a splat mat, some oil cloth, a shower curtain, a canvas dropcloth from Home Depot, etc. if you are worried about a mess, but most of the washable stuff works just fine, IME. I wouldn't let her roam the house with it, but strip her down to a dipe and let her have at it :)

eta: a lot of people on here have recommended the Susan Striker book Young at Art. There's another great one too (different author) but the name is escaping me. Hopefully someone will post the title...

[swrc00]

I second the Crayola products. The Crayola Beginnings are a great place to start. I really like the Tadoodles. They are basically crayons with a base that makes it easier for little hands to hold. There are some Tadoodles that start at 12 mo. They look like this:

http://www.crayola.com/products/list.cfm?categories=BEGINNINGS

For some reason I can only find the ones recommended for 18 mo+ on the website. I just purchased the 12 mo ones at Target.

[juliasmom05]

eta: a lot of people on here have recommended the Susan Striker book Young at Art. There's another great one too (different author) but the name is escaping me. Hopefully someone will post the title...

First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl is another good book.

Marci

[brittone2]

First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by MaryAnn F. Kohl is another good book.

Marci

That's the one! Thanks for posting it. I haven't read it but have seen it recommended several times :)

[bubbaray]

I have the Tadoodles stuff for DD#2 and, frankly, it was a waste of money. She always wants the crayons/markers that DD#1 uses (Crayola washable).

[chinook]

I wasn't impressed with the Tadoodles. I bought the crayons and they broke and wouldn't stay in the holder things and then the markers were finicky - they had to be pushing down on just the right spot to make a mark.

We've had the best luck with the plain old crayola washable markers because they don't have to press very hard or be precise to make a mark on the paper.

[BeachBum]

We started with crayons and washable markers and finger paints. Closer to two we started using those watercolor paints (you know the ones in the rectangle strip) and he loved that and may have been able to do it sooner.

My best advice is don't get discouraged. For a very long time it took me longer to set up and clean up than it did for him to do "art". But now at almost 3 he just loves it and will sit for quite some time and do things.